Behind the scenes

First appearance

Latest appearance

The Brethren Court, also known as the Pirate Brethren,[1]Brethren of the Coast[2], Order of the Brethren[3], Pirate Conclave[1] or Pirate Council,[1] was a loose confederation of pirates active in the Age of Piracy. Made up of the great Pirate Lords, the Brethren Court was the governing body of pirates. These rogues and scoundrels were the best of the best, or the worst of the worst.

In keeping with their heritage, the Brethren Court were governed by the Code, which favored legislative decision-making, hierarchical command authority, individual rights, and equitable division of revenues. Morgan and Bartholomew were perhaps the most famous members of the Brethren and the ones usually noted with producing the Code. The hallowed Pirata Codex would be guarded by the Keeper of the Code.

Entry to this club required possession of one of the nine pieces of eight, various small trinkets used as the First Court were, to a one, skint broke. Each captain, or successor, held this item close at all times since it provided entry to this mighty exclusive group.

Contrary to the belief that the First Meeting of the Brethren Court convened in the days before the great Hellenic society of Greece was founded[4], the First Court actually met at a later date[5], possibly during the 17th century before the Golden Age of Piracy began. The First Court consisted of the Nine Pirate Lords who bound the sea goddess Calypso in her human form, on the instruction of Davy Jones, who revealed them secrets from the Journal of the Ancient Seas. They sealed Calypso's fate with Nine Pieces of Eight, so that the rule of the seas would belong to men. The Brethren would convene a further three times before Calypso's eventual release.

"At any rate, the second Brethren Court drew up the Pirate Code which has served us well. Two of the Pirate Lords, Morgan and Bartholomew, figured it out and wrote it down, and that's what we've all lived by ever since."

On the Second Meeting of the Brethren Court, the Pirates' Code was set down by the Captains Morgan and Bartholomew and recorded in the Pirata Codex. In addition to the Nine Pirate Lords new Members of the Court were appointed: the Keeper of the Code and the carriers of the Code.[4]

During the Third Meeting of the Brethren Court, a pirate thief named Tartaglia attempted to use the Timekeeper as a false Piece of Eight to fool the assembled Pirate Lords into thinking he was one of them. His plan failed and the third Brethren Court ended in violence.[6]

"The question has been raised, regarding whether the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea has broken the Code by knowingly targeting and sinking other pirate ships. This inquiry will hear evidence to discover the truth."

When the Pirate Brethren found itself endangered by the actions of the mysterious rogue pirates, who were breaking the Code of the Pirate Brethren by slaughtering their victims and attacking other pirate ships, the Pirate Lord and Keeper of the Code Edward Teague called for an official court of inquiry. The Russian Pirate Lord Boris "Borya" Palachnik was accused of being one of the rogues. Inside the Pirate Hall, all the witnesses told their stories, but there was not enough evidences against Borya, and Teague decided to summon Davy Jones, the Lord of the sea.[2]

Jones knew everything that happened in his watery kingdoms, and the Brethren Court spoke a magic call that brought Jones onboard the Troubadour, Teague's ship. Jones recognized Borya as the leader of the rogue pirates, saying that he and his men sent many souls to the sea bottom without mercy. Borya and his whole crew were quickly imprisoned in the dungeons of Shipwreck City and sentenced to hang, but they later managed to escape from the island.[2]

"But the time before that, it produced the Code, which has served us well...and it was the very first meeting that gave us no less than rule of the sea herself, didn't it? And now that rule is being challenged.""The East India Trading Company.""Lord Cutler Beckett is a pox on us all."

The Fourth Brethren Court was called when the song was sung by convicted pirates and pirate associates at Fort Charles, initially sent forth by Hector Barbossa[7]. The majority of the Brethren assembled in the Pirate Hall on Shipwreck Island, joined later by the recently-resurrected Jack Sparrow and Barbossa, and Elizabeth Swann, who replaced Sao Feng. Barbossa chaired the meeting, noting that the Brethren had not gathered in either his or Sparrow's lifetime.

Assembling at the chamber, the Pirate Lords, and their respective crews, met to discuss their course of action against LordCutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company. Ultimately, the Brethren decided to go to war, following the election of Elizabeth Swann to the position of Pirate King, upon which the majority of Pirate Lords agreed. Their nine pieces of eight were burned as part of an incantation that saw the release of Calypso, and the ultimate defeat of Lord Beckett.

Made up of the great Pirate Lords, the Brethren Court was the governing body of pirates.[10] The Court was led by the Pirate King, chosen by popular vote by the nine Pirate Lords, each lord hailing from a different region spread across the Four Corners of the Earth. This system of election was known to be flawed, as the pirates would commonly vote for themselves, making a decision difficult. The title was non-gender specific, though Elizabeth Swann was believed to be the first female Pirate King.

Pirate Lords were required to each carry a piece of eight, signifying their status as a member of the Brethren Court. It was initially suggested that the Pirate Lords carry actual silver coins, though the pirates, finding themselves short on money, opted for holding various items and trinkets that would be instantly recognizable and linked to the individual Lord.

Meetings of the Brethren Court were convened by means of a "call" intended to draw all nine Lords to a single location. This call took the form of a sea shanty, Hoist the Colours, known to all pirates.

The Brethren Court was based on the real-world confederation of pirates known as the "Brethren of the Coast".

The original opening of At World's End was to be a montage depicting the Pirate Lords each receiving a piece of eight from Hector Barbossa as a sort of invitation announcing the convening of the Brethren Court. However, the scene of the hanging at Fort Charles, in which Hoist the Colors was sung, ended up being the opening in the final cut of the film. All that remained of the original opening was a shot of Barbossa with a piece of eight in his hand, which only appeared in the opening clip of the At World's End deleted scenes.[11]

↑"I will say, though, the 'time Greece was founded' is far too early and makes no sense. For there to be a Court you need pirates to gather from all over the world, and that sort of thing wasn't happening then." - Terry Rossio